Just have to share...Last night I made cauliflower "rice" for the family to try (only 2 of my kids were here). I just seasoned it with onion powder and some garlic. It was so good! My kids thought it tasted like fried rice. So I searched around a found a recipe for shrimp fried "rice" using cauliflower and made that tonight. The 2 kids that weren't here last night were here this time. My son can be pretty picky. They all LOVED it and raved about it, including my son!

I sautéed scallions and red bell pepper in olive oil. Added the cauliflower (obviously well grated) and garlic and cooked it down. (Boy does it have a funky smell until it gets cooked!) Then I added cooked shrimp and a little soy sauce. Finally did the egg part right at the end. Delicious!

Jendilly - thanks for the share, that sounds incredibly divine! I want to try cauliflower rice tomorrow and then move on to shrimp cauliflower rice, like you suggest. YUM! That's awesome that the kids gobbled it up. I guess you just use a regular grater. I have yet to find the recipe on the boards, I think I just have to scroll through the pages more than I do. Thanks again, glad to hear you really enjoy eating it!

morning ya'll. can't sleep, so sad! I'm about to just get up and get my coffee but secretly hope i'll fall back asleep. I'm excited to dive into a new book I grabbed yesterday on the sale rack at Barnes and Noble. It's called A Course In Weightloss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight forever. I hope it's a good read, looked interesting! Here's a link to in on B&N.

I'm headed to the farmers market this AM to pick up a few things and tonight Lafayette kicks off the Mardi Gras season with our first Mardi Gras Ball! The Krewe of Carnivale en Rio. My uncle is king so it's quite a big event! Hope ya'll have a great day!

Let us know what you think! That sounds like just what I need, and I'm almost done with my book. That's fun your uncle is King. Good thing about avoiding that cake is you won't find any babies! (Or is that a fat tuesday thing?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by vachinyc

Good morning all: brrr, it's cold out there.
Hope your return travel went ok Lisa.
Sorry you were up so early Ruth Ann and ems and Hiker. I have been a terrible sleeper most of my life - no fun! Hope you get in a nap. IP has helped my sleep I think.
Welcome back kcdoe - hope you are on the mend.
You've been productive already drd, that's impressive.

It is weigh in Saturday for me. Thankfully the clinic is across the street so not too terribly cold but brought out the puffy coat.

It's my 20th week on IP. This is a 2-week number for me and I'm happy to be down another 3.9 pounds. Also took measurements and down another 3.25 inches across chest/arm/waist/hips/thigh for a total inches lost of 35.25. Woo Hoo. Sizes aren't going down quite the way I'd like but certainly this is proof it works I have big belly issues - never have had much of a waist, even when I've been thinner. Ah well... I'm grateful for the losses, regardless. Still not sure what new 'goal weight' is but not sure I'm there yet.

I have a sinus infection and TOM is next week so fun fun fun...drinking lots and resting.

Hope you all have a great weekend. Stay warm!

IP POWER to all!

Wow, 20 weeks! You are awesome! And it sounds like you've had incredible success, congrats! I don't have big belly issues but I do have big booby issues lol. And back fat! I am always slouching! I changed my goal my first time around, I originally had it at 145 and changed it to 165. I found that I just felt great, my happy weight was wear i could stand up and have no belly roll. I think if I had stayed @ 165 for a while I would have started feeling fat again and kept going... but instead I gained back and now I REALLY feel fat! Lol! Anyways I'm on day 3 of my reboot and your 20 weeks is a big inspiration. Congrats on your losses!

Quote:

Originally Posted by KareVT

Good AM Everyone

Hoping it gets a little warmer out there 9 degrees (not including windchill) is not my idea of fun. I don't know how anyone goes to the mountain to ski or snowboard on a day like today, aiyee.

vachinyc - congrats on your loss this week, that's fantastic. way to go and keep up the good work; you're inspiring me to kick it into high gear.

My losses lately have been super slow but all good; so long as I'm OP I will continue to be a happy girl.

Trying to reboot my workouts at the gym but today all I feel like doing is lounging and meal planning. Oh, and maybe a movie.

Enjoy the day!

The losses always slow down toward the end, you have done a phenomenal job! Congrats!

Quote:

Originally Posted by blondie739

Well week one complete as today is my official weigh in day. Down 8.2 pounds and am pretty stoked about it! It has definitely become easier now that everything has fallen into place. I am not hungry and only have the occasional craving when I'm cooking my husband and 4 kids dinner! It's a little lonely at meal time since I'm eating so differently but it's time to get all this baby weight gone for good.

Awesome week 1! You can do this! I eat breakfast and lunch alone but dinner is usually pretty easy to include my Fiance (but he is only one person). I figure if he wants to add ranch/bbq sauce/etc. he can do whatever he wants. But We're starting with good stuff! Lol Keep up the good work!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahBell

Good Saturday AM everyone!

I want to say thanks to all the dancing carrots and WTG for finally crossing into ONEderland!!! I am still there today LOL.

It is "balmy" now but the temps are going to drop like a lead weight and then it is stay in side and no go out unless we must for the next 3 - 4 days!!!

I dropped $230 in groceries yesterday. I should be set for a while I hope!

Welcome to Onederland, big time congrats!!!!!! Have another carrot (since it's the only kind you can have on p1 LOL)

Quote:

Originally Posted by nolasmurf

Warning Rant
a customer just brought one of my coworkers a rum cake. Fine I'm good with that I can avoid it. Not a big fan of the rum cakes but this WITCH with a B keeps going on and on about how delicious it is and don't I want to break the rules and have a piece??? GRRRR NO I don't want a piece, SHUT UP!

okay i'm done. Thank you for reading :x

UGH - was this B also overweight? I find that my biggest pushback comes from cynics who are overweight, and who want to believe that they have no control over themselves so neither should I. You did an awesome job!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahJ86

I love this site. Everyone is so supportive of each other. This is day five for me. I am still having a hard time with being hungry. I can avoid carbs and don't have a problem with temptation. But I still seem to be hungry and lethargic and kind of grumpy sigh. I am good to go for a couple hours after I eat my meals. But they do not last until my next meal. I do not know whether I have hit ketosis yet or not because I still feel hungry and have such low energy. I am drinking all my water and more and getting all of my vitamins. Is the oil really necessary? That's the only thing that I have been kind of skipping occasionally because I don't know how to get that all in. I guess we will see after the weekend if I still feel like this. Ugh. Everyone says it gets better bit it really hasn't. Sigh.

Have you been losing? After 5 days I would think you'd definitely be in keto by now. And the oil is necessary! Not only to your health but it helps move things along if you know what I mean. I almost always sautee my dinner so I usually have no problem getting in my oil. Great job on your first 5 days! I also struggle with being hungry. I split my meals up, I will spread my breakfast out by using a protein drink as coffee creamer and sip that. Then I will eat veggies for lunch. Then I will eat a bar/protein product around 3. Then I will have dinner around 5/6. And then I will eat a bar/protein product around 8 or 9. Chugging water all day. It works for me, I hope it helps you! This is based on an 8 hr work day, 8am to 5pm. Hope that helped!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jendilly

So lunch out was a bit rough. The company was great. The waiter...not so much. Didn't seem happy to substitute or help me out at all. I ordered an alder plank salmon and asked for no butter or sauce. Fine, no problem. I asked what it came with and he told me garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I asked him if there were any other choices for vegetables to have and he said no, that they call them "seasonal choices" and that was it. Grr...he didn't seem willing to offer anything else, so I just took it as is. My plate came and the salmon portion was small and I had maybe 1/2 cup of green beans (which I know we aren't really supposed to have). I didn't touch the potatoes and just ate my meal, drank a ton of water, and enjoyed the conversations. I had forgotten my WF salad dressing packet at home, so a salad wasn't an option.

Oh well...chalk it up to a learning experience. I wasn't hungry afterwards, so will just have LOTS of veggies tonight with a little bit of protein. This was my first attempt at eating out on IP and feel like it was a so-so experience. I'm sure it'll be better the next time I try. I just won't be going to Anthony's (which is normally one of our favorites) while on phase 1.

It is so frustrating when you go out and the restaurant is not understanding. I try to be extremely polite and tell them I have food allergies, and ask them to bear with me cause I'm going to ask a lot of questions. Usually that will take their guard down some. I have had great success at Chili's! I get a steak (they usually top it with butter, cheese and herbs so I have to ask for them to nix that) and I ask for two sides of broccoli, steamed plain. A good place also is red lobster, I just get crab legs and ask for my broccoli steamed plain Unfortunately we all have these bad experiences though. One time I ordered a salad at chick fil a, didn't have any dressing, and the salad was mostly fruit and covered in carrot flakes! What a sad site I was, desperately foraging for dry lettuce LOL. But you do what you have to do to stay OP and attain your goals! You showed great resolve by not touching those 'tatoes! Keep it up and you'll be at goal in no time

Quote:

Originally Posted by jendilly

Just have to share...Last night I made cauliflower "rice" for the family to try (only 2 of my kids were here). I just seasoned it with onion powder and some garlic. It was so good! My kids thought it tasted like fried rice. So I searched around a found a recipe for shrimp fried "rice" using cauliflower and made that tonight. The 2 kids that weren't here last night were here this time. My son can be pretty picky. They all LOVED it and raved about it, including my son!

I sautéed scallions and red bell pepper in olive oil. Added the cauliflower (obviously well grated) and garlic and cooked it down. (Boy does it have a funky smell until it gets cooked!) Then I added cooked shrimp and a little soy sauce. Finally did the egg part right at the end. Delicious!

Everyone always raves about the cauliflower rice and cauliflower mashed potatoes. I'm really going to have to get on board. Thanks for sharing!

Hope everyone had a wonderful day! I'm on day 3 of my reboot (I decided to wait til after the holidays). Yesterday was kind of hard but today wasn't at all. I had delicious rutabaga fries for lunch and for dinner I sauteed us some chicken, onion, garlic and spinach in red pepper olive oil. One pan, easy peasy. We braved the snow this morning to take a trip to the grocery store, returned home and I've been cooking and watching football in my PJ's all day. Can't complain! Hope everyone else had a great day and isn't being tempted by tailgate snacks!

__________________

Goal: Begin maintenance on Aug. 30th to learn how to maintain, then go back on Phase 1 next April and lose more.

Ugh today has been rough but I managed to make it through. But my husband decided to join me on my journey so I'm really excited about that! We both could stand to lose a significant amount of weight but need something with a little more structure than the past. Hope this is it!

Jendilly - thanks for the share, that sounds incredibly divine! I want to try cauliflower rice tomorrow and then move on to shrimp cauliflower rice, like you suggest. YUM! That's awesome that the kids gobbled it up. I guess you just use a regular grater. I have yet to find the recipe on the boards, I think I just have to scroll through the pages more than I do. Thanks again, glad to hear you really enjoy eating it!

I used a food processor to shred it very fine. You could also use the really fine side of a grater. I'll try to remember to post the actual recipe tomorrow. found it on pinterest.

Well week one complete as today is my official weigh in day. Down 8.2 pounds and am pretty stoked about it! It has definitely become easier now that everything has fallen into place. I am not hungry and only have the occasional craving when I'm cooking my husband and 4 kids dinner! It's a little lonely at meal time since I'm eating so differently but it's time to get all this baby weight gone for good.

Is there a reason you're eating so differently? Can everyone have meat & veggies and just add a starch for them? I tend to have most of my veggies through the day so at dinner I mostly put my meat on a big bed of lettuce.
Congrats on your success so far. It keeps getting easier.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahJ86

I love this site. Everyone is so supportive of each other. This is day five for me. I am still having a hard time with being hungry. I can avoid carbs and don't have a problem with temptation. But I still seem to be hungry and lethargic and kind of grumpy sigh. I am good to go for a couple hours after I eat my meals. But they do not last until my next meal. I do not know whether I have hit ketosis yet or not because I still feel hungry and have such low energy. I am drinking all my water and more and getting all of my vitamins. Is the oil really necessary? That's the only thing that I have been kind of skipping occasionally because I don't know how to get that all in. I guess we will see after the weekend if I still feel like this. Ugh. Everyone says it gets better bit it really hasn't. Sigh.

The oil is absolutely necessary! Non negotiable. Your body needs the fat to survive (even though it is burning fat)
You can put it in a smoothie (if you're bending with veggies), add it to soup, make homemade salad dressing (EVOO, ACV, and herbs of choice). My lunches for MONTHS were an IP soup with veggie purée. I added oil to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jendilly

So lunch out was a bit rough. The company was great. The waiter...not so much. Didn't seem happy to substitute or help me out at all. I ordered an alder plank salmon and asked for no butter or sauce. Fine, no problem. I asked what it came with and he told me garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. I asked him if there were any other choices for vegetables to have and he said no, that they call them "seasonal choices" and that was it. Grr...he didn't seem willing to offer anything else, so I just took it as is. My plate came and the salmon portion was small and I had maybe 1/2 cup of green beans (which I know we aren't really supposed to have). I didn't touch the potatoes and just ate my meal, drank a ton of water, and enjoyed the conversations. I had forgotten my WF salad dressing packet at home, so a salad wasn't an option.

Oh well...chalk it up to a learning experience. I wasn't hungry afterwards, so will just have LOTS of veggies tonight with a little bit of protein. This was my first attempt at eating out on IP and feel like it was a so-so experience. I'm sure it'll be better the next time I try. I just won't be going to Anthony's (which is normally one of our favorites) while on phase 1.

It sounds like you made a great first attempt at eating out.

Double veggies & a salad. Even if you forget your dressing, you can have EVOO, lemon, salt & pepper. I'd probly have plunked the salmon right on top of the salad. It is a whole different taste sensation than a plain salad.

I learned early-on to not eat my occasional veggies at home. That way I never got stuck at a restaurant with no choices.

Since this is one of your favorite restaurants, I'd suggest calling and speaking to management about your experience. More and more people are developing food sensitivities. I use the excuse that I'm on a medically supervised diet for a medical condition (no need to tell them the medical condition is obesity...none of their biz what your condition is). If you get the same bs from the mgr that you got from the waiter, I'd steer clear of the place. I'd be really surprised if management would be happy to hear about your experience.

I just finished day 4, starting day 5 of IP and my WI shows I'm down 5 lbs! Yeah, this makes me very happy. I haven't been this heavy for 20 years and I'm sad I let myself get this out of control before doing something about it.

Morning! Last night's ball was a blast. I tell ya, going into something like Mardi Gras and not drinking, really opens your eyes to how much alcohol is being consumed by everyone else! Really wish I could have had a glass of wine but we all know that leads to 2...then 3! So I stayed away. I got to wear a goal dress that I had posted on here weeks ago, so that was a great feeling and reminder for me during the night. Got tons of compliments but like I said a few days ago, I'd rather not get them. It makes me feel awkward.

sekc14, that's some great insight for me to consider. I do hope to make some sort of connection with it because I would love to have a spiritual POV for my situtation. I'm currently still reading Beck Diet Solution and I am 100% committed to the lifestyle of using cognitive therapy. I appreciate your insight into this new book too!

ColoradoGirl, sadly..king cake surrounds me year-round! It is a Mardi Gras (translation: Fat Tuesday) food, and it was there last night! I didn't eat any, i'm just not tempted anymore!

Thanks for your reply. I have an IP packet for breakfast and lunch. My snack usually in the afternoon and 2 cups of veggies for lunch and dinner. I have been sometimes having an extra meal split up like the vanilla ready made drink will take sips throughout the day. Okay will work the oil in. That could be part of the problem. I have lost weight this week a lot in fact but feel like I am starving myself. A full two weeks sounds like a long time for it to get better. I hope it doesn't take that long sheesh! I guess all I can do is plug along. Thanks!

When I get hungry I add in a plain romaine lettuce salad and a Walden Farms dressing. It tides me over. To make it more delicious, I sprinkle the lettuce with dried cilantro. It's yummy

I was going through some boxes of clothes when I was moving and found a number of dresses that I will soon be back into... the question is whether they are in style anymore!! LOL

Thank you! I think we all have a section of our closets with skinny clothes! I think I'd wear the othes if they were in style or not- just because I could fit back in them! One thing i don't have in my skinny section is a coat. I actually got a couple of heavy coats last hear at this time for a trip I took and now Louisiana is starting the week where we actually need them but it looks like I'm being draped in a massive parachute!! I wish consignment stores were open today, I could use one for this week! Or I'll just look like I'm draped in a parachute. Lol.

Thank you! I think we all have a section of our closets with skinny clothes! I think I'd wear the othes if they were in style or not- just because I could fit back in them! One thing i don't have in my skinny section is a coat. I actually got a couple of heavy coats last hear at this time for a trip I took and now Louisiana is starting the week where we actually need them but it looks like I'm being draped in a massive parachute!! I wish consignment stores were open today, I could use one for this week! Or I'll just look like I'm draped in a parachute. Lol.

LOL love the parachute mental picture! I was swimming in my winter coat and living in the north (currently -30 Celsius/-22 Farenheit) Its all people see! I finally bought a new one a little small but I'm motivated to have it fit better soon!
Have a great day.

As always it's motivating to hear everyone plugging away and staying on track.

I crashed and burned over the last week or so and have gained back some of the weight I'd lost. It was actually a big wake up call for me - I thought I'd navigate the holidays with no problem because I'd been so committed to IP since August. Unfortunately I allowed myself to get way too lax and have been having a really hard time getting back into the routine. I realized how easy it was to go back to some really unhealthy eating behaviors I've struggled with for a long time.
My work schedule gets back to normal this week, so that will hopefully help me to get my schedule of meals and everything back to how it was before the holidays so I can refocus. The only way this works for me is being 100%, so that is what I need to do.
I have been using all alternatives and not going to a coach for the last month or so, and I think not having the accountability of having someone weigh me in each week let me get too comfortable with slipping. I am weighing myself every week and have changed my ticker to reflect the gain to be accountable for that. I will also keep checking in here to keep my focus and motivation where it needs to be so can start moving forward and downward on the scale. Thanks all for hearing me out!

I have the boob issue too... Which helps balance the belly I suppose haha. And I totally identify with the slouching. I wonder if that's more common as people weigh a little too much?

I honestly didn't think I'd be on Phase 1 of IP for 20 weeks...I'm not sure what I thought though I may have been daunted if I had looked at it that way. I am surprised I've been able to do it this long but I know the structure of the program and the support of this board have been invaluable. I find myself getting a little antsy to move on...but also have some nervousness about change and maintenance. Thankfully we have people on the board who've been at it far longer than I, and who have successfully maintained. It bolsters my confidence and reminds me to buck up.

Together, we can do this! IP POWER to all!

__________________
IN MAINTENANCE since March 2014
Reboot Feb-April 2016